Automobile radiator protector



March 11, 1924. 1,486,201

F; C. SUTTER AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR PROTECTOR Filed Dec. 17. 1917 INVENTOR Patented Mar. 1 1, 1924.

; fum'rsn ss'ra'rs's PATENT OFFICE.

of Michigan,

rannnarcx 0. serum, or naraonr, monrom.

noromosrnn mmroa rnorncroa.

Application filed December 17,1917; Serial ll'o. 207,602,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK a citizen of the United States,

Detroit, in the county of Wayne and G. Sums, resldin at have invented new and useful Improvements in Automobile Radiator Protectors; of which the following is a specification. a

This invention has for'its object the control of the operatin temperature of an automobile motor by the drlver from his seat. The advantage of running an automobile motor at a properly high temperature and the disadvantages of' running the same at too low a known to all users of automobiles-that little further need be said on the subject. In cold weather practically every .driver of an automobile makes some attempt to control the temperature of his motor andraise same to a point at which satisfactory operation takes place. In many 'cases'the means employed consist of a fragment of cardboard, heavy paper or sheet metal placed in front of the ra 1ator' to partly obstruct the flow of air through the same. Many drivers make use of flaps of flexible material which may be rolled up by hand and fastened in one of several positions between closed and open to accomplish the same results. A ve few radiators have been manufactured in which is incorporated some means of varying the flow of air through the radiator controllable from the drivers'seat but in general it may be .said that no devicahas yet been. produced which is readily attached to existing cars or which may be embodied in-the design of new cars without manufaoturing complications.

My invention possesses these qualifications which any successful and popular adjustable radlator shield must of necessity p" it is operable by the driver from his seat it has 'a range of adjustment to meet all conditions, it is inexpensive. and'easily appli\ to existing cars with no mechanical changes or fittin'g other than drilling two or three small holes for attachment, it is simple' n construction and not liable to derangement from mud, snow or freezing rain clogging the parts, it ma readily be built into new cars, it is si ht y and free from fantastic appearance, in fact one of the forms which it may take, namely the rolling flap, is precisely similar in appearance to the rolling flap of the standard quilted hood tate . 2. is a front viewof the temperature are now so well cover in universal use.' It the jfailure of proposed devices to meetsome or all of the above requirements that has prevented these from being adopted by automobile users.

In the accompanying drawings similar numerals refer to similar parts and t Fig. 1- is a general irregular sectional view of the forward portion of an automobile with my invention applied to same, small parts magnified toshow cohstruction. Fig. ,In these views a r, I m invention'isg'showu in 1; form which 1:

,ta es when embodiedgin-b as apart of a hood and radiatorto "F igs. '8, and 4 a-sto y side a "radiator invention takes when shield. without a k at; any other auxiliarycove fi k-6 are-front and side viewsf'q angswhich may be used in my :sha i .1 7 and 8 are front and side views-of anot or form of my inventionv in which myf'shield instead of rollingup u on itself is rolled upon a spring actuated ro ler. Figs. 9 andlO are front and side views of-a -radiator cover with my control attached. Fig. 11- is asection of a portion of a radiator'with my guide tube occupying one of th Figs. 12 and 13 are front view and section of a pulley device attached to the end of a guide tube. f

1 is the radiator and 2 the air same. 3-3 is a. hood cover such as are in common use with the usual rectangular openirig that portion which covers the radia r. thanthe o enin edge of the openin 6. The flap 4 contains the coiled or spira spring 5 whichkeepsfiit .f p g lithe end-oithej rough sneer-cue rolled u near the bottom of the 6. A be t 12 passes thro spring and the flap, and t air passages of the radiator'thus holding the outer on of the spring-in sition.' .7; is a flexible cable or nzzordattaeli e air passages of same.

4 is a flexible flap somewhat larger, 6 and attached by its lower. edge to. t e rs. iator cover near the lower.

ed the inner,

end of the flap and whichrolls up'with'the t 9 is small enough in tob'stij'ictioris; fiat-enamel:

one of the air passages of the radiator, it has its outer end bent into a short smooth curve, and being,preferably, of some soft material such as copper it is easily bent in smooth curves around obstructions when installed. Instead of havinq its outer end curved, tube 9 may have a pulley terminal 24 attached to it with a small pulle 25 over which the cord 7 may run. Tu e 9 may be tied or taped to any convenient part such as the radiator rod 10 or it may be fixed snugly into the radiator as shown in Fig. 11 in which 11 and 11' are washers on the tube, and 23 is ta e or cord wrapped about the inner part of t e tube. Washer 11- is attached to the tube while washer 11 is free, so that the effect of the tape 23 is to hold the tube firmly,

in position. This method of holding the tube is satisfactory in case short tubesextending but little beyond the inner face of the radiator are used. While I have shown my cable 1 tube 7 inserted in an air passage in the center of the radiator at its top it is evident that same may be passed through any airspace, it sometimes being more convenient to pass the'tube through a space somewhat to one side of the central line of the radiator, as in this position less bending is requiredto clear other parts behind the radiator. Fasteners 13 of any convenient form maybe used.- to

button the flap in position if desired. If several springs 5 are used in the curtain 4 it may be. desirable to connect the ends of these by means of a cross member'14. In Figs. 7 and 8, 16 is a spring actuated roller similarto the shade rollerin common use except that the pawls are omitted, held in the movable yoke 15, on which the curtain 17 is rolled. Curtain 17-is attached by its outer edge near the bottom of the radiator by means of bolts assing through the radiator'air passages, so

i hat as yoke and. roller 15 and 16 are raised the curtain is payed out thus coverin the radiator and obstructing the flow 0- air through the. same. Inall these various forms the cord 7 operates as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In Figs. 9 and 10, 21 is a radiator cover with sectors 20-20 cut away to expose the radiator. 19 is a rotatable member with vanes 19', mounted on spool 22 carried by pin borne by cover 21.. Cable 7 is wound upon the spool so that pulling upon same l rotates 19so that its vanes uncover the openings 20 thus allowing the flow of air through the radiator. Member 19 is returned to its former closed osition by means of a coil spring within t e spool. It isobvious that my control is ap licable to a very wide variety of adjusta le shields such as vanes, shutters, slides and the like.

I claim- 1. The-combination with a radiator having ventilation passages extending from front to rear thereof, of a shield movable parallel to the front face of said radiator,

secured to said shield, and a tube insertable 7 in said ventilation passage and surroundin said flexible member to guide the same and prevent contact thereof with the wall of said ventilation passage.

2. The combination with a radiator nav- 7 ing ventilation passa es cxtendin from front to rear thereof, 0 a shield at t 1e front of said radiator and movable substantially parallel to its front face, a flexible member having a portion passing through one of said ventilation passages and another portion extending near the front face of said radiator and secured to said shield, and a tube insertable in said ventilation passage to guide said flexible engagement thereof with the wall of said ventilation passage, said tube being curved for a portion of its length forward of the front face of said radiator.

3. The combination with a radiator hav- 00 ing ventilation passa es extending from front to rear thereof, 0 a'shield at the front of said radiator and movable substantially parallel to itsfront face, a flexible member having a said ventilation passe es and another p'or tion at the front of sai radiator and secured to said shield, and a tube insertable in said ventilation 'assage and surrounding said flexible mom or to guide the same, and to I prevent rubbing action thereof upon the wall of saidyentilation passage, said tube being bendable and extending beyond the front and rear of faces of the radiator, the

portion of the tube extending beyond the front face of the radiator being downwardly curved.

4. The combination with a radiator having ventilation passa es extending from front to rear thereof, of at the front of said radiator, a flexible member secured to said shield and passing through one of said ventilation passages, and a tube insertable in said ventilation passage and surrounding said flexible mom 11 her to guide the same and prevent contact thereof with the wall of said ventilation passage.

5. The combinationwith a radiator having ventilation passe es extendin at the front of said radiator, a flexible member connected to said shield and passing through one of said ventilation passages v guide mounted on said radiat if 6. The combination with a radiator hav member and prevent I portion passing. through one of 9 an adjustable shield 11 7 fr m 1 front to rear thereof, 0 an adjustab e shield ing ventilation passages extendin from front to rear thereof, and a fan at t e rear thereof, of an adjustable shield at the front of said radiator, means for adjusting said shield passing through one of said ventilation passages and past said fan, and a tube insertable in said ventilation passage and surrounding said adjusting means to guide the same and prevent contact thereof with the wall of said ventilation passage, said tube directing said adjusting means to clear said fan.

7. The combination with a radiator having ventilation passages extending from front to rear thereof, of an adjustable shield at the front of said radiator, a member passing through one of said ventilation passages for adjustin said shield and a removable tube insertab e in said ventilation passage and surrounding said adjusting member to guide the same and prevent contact thereof with the wall of said ventilation passage.

FREDERICK C. SUTTER.

Witnesses:

Fnoanmm B. Mamnw, EMILY M. Some. 

